This year, the entire Ohio House of Representatives and much of the Ohio Senate will have to face voters. That means they'll also have to face our editorial board if they're running in the seven-county Greater Cleveland area. The same is true of all statewide officeholders and all U.S. congressional representatives from Northeast Ohio as well as the Cuyahoga County executive and about half of County Council. Our editorial board also will be endorsing in select judicial contests in both the primary and general elections.

As the editorial board this weekend begins rolling out our endorsements in the May 6, 2014, Republican and Democratic primaries, one recurring theme of the endorsement interviews for Ohio House and Senate races so far has been the question of how to increase Northeast Ohio's legislative clout in Columbus, where downstate Republicans dominate.

And that has stirred a broad discussion in many of these interviews about pragmatism versus partisanship.

Are Greater Cleveland's Democratic representatives in Columbus too liberal? Do they need to try harder to find compromise? How important is it to stand on principle versus to look for incremental change? Do those who deviate too far from the party line face the wrath of party machines ready to send another candidate into the fray? Or might that be a good thing, if a candidate has strayed too far from the core principles of his or her constituents?

And will the Tea Party find a toehold in Northeast Ohio, notably with conservative Geauga County lawmaker Matt Lynch challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce in a congressional primary that appears to be attracting Tea Party money from outside Ohio?

We begin our endorsements this weekend with a look at two local Ohio House races that include some of these themes. The Democratic primary for the Ohio House 35th District in Summit County features a two-term incumbent, Zack Milkovich -- who entered politics by unseating a party-backed incumbent -- facing a surprise primary challenge from an assistant city prosecutor in Akron, Greta Johnson, who has never held elective office. Johnson has heavyweight backing from the Democratic mayors of Akron and Barberton and Summit County Executive Russ Pry. Milkovich looks vulnerable because he lost an election last fall for Barberton clerk against a well-regarded Republican incumbent. But he says his iconoclastic ways and blue-collar roots best represent this working-class district.

We also are endorsing in the Republican primary for the Ohio House 76th District in Geauga and Portage counties, a seat being vacated by Lynch so he can run in the 14th Congressional District primary against Joyce. On the Republican primary ballot May 6 for the 76th District seat will be just one name -- Sarah LaTourette, daughter of former 14th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette. But her candidacy has prompted a write-in challenge from a Tea Party-aligned Republican, Linda J. O'Brien, who is mounting a spirited campaign and who acknowledges that her anger over some of what Steve LaTourette has said about conservative Republicans is what brought her into the race.

Early voting began last Tuesday, so we will be publishing endorsements as expeditiously as possible. As with our endorsements in last year's general election, we plan to publish endorsements in The Plain Dealer on home delivery days to make it as easy as possible for readers to consult our opinion.

Why do we endorse? It is for the reasons suggested above. We want to be a means for voters to gather more information and insights so their votes are more informed. We don't seek to dictate or impose our views. We just want to add another layer of analysis to the process. That's also why we try to prioritize contested judicial races, especially in Cuyahoga County, where the name game is played far too often. The beauty of the American electoral system after all is the secret ballot. It is your vote, your choice. We are just hoping to shed a little more light on races.

We are also hoping to hear from you. Let us know what issues are important to you. Tell us what you think about the candidates. Starting April 7, we will be previewing each day's endorsement interviews at cleveland.com/opinion so you can share your thoughts and the questions you'd like us to ask beforehand. Or you can email me at esullivan@cleveland.com with your thoughts.

Endorsement interviews are planned in these races the week of April 7:

To promote more transparency in the endorsement process, we also will be posting audio for almost all of the endorsement interviews, barring technical or other glitches. Reporters are invited to endorsement meetings and have been trying to post brief stories for the meetings they are able to attend.

Any comments left on our published primary endorsements at cleveland.com/opinion also will be considered when we endorse again in the fall. We don't want endorsements to be a one-way street. We do as much due diligence as possible about candidates, but our judgments are only as valid as our knowledge, and we hope to hear from you to expand on that 'database.' The state of the nation and of Greater Cleveland will be better, the better informed we all are about our electoral choices.

Elizabeth Sullivan is the director of opinion for the Northeast Ohio Media Group and directs the editorial board for The Plain Dealer and NEOMG.

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